


Sojourn

by Sarcasmcat



Series: Visits [2]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-19
Updated: 2012-04-19
Packaged: 2017-11-03 21:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/386304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcasmcat/pseuds/Sarcasmcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another visit from Alex has Michal wondering if there might be a future for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sojourn

Michal knows even before he gets all his gear on that he isn’t going to be on the ice for long. The weight alone is enough to make his leg ache.

By the time he gets to the ice the team is gathered at one end listening to Hunter. He steps onto the ice, one of the trainers following him but staying near the boards.

It feels odd to be on the ice without being as loose as usual. The trainers are watching him closely and had only allowed him to stretch enough to avoid pulling any muscles.

He hasn’t been on the ice for more than twenty minutes before the ache becomes too much. Ignoring Greg’s look Michal drops at the end of the bench. He might not be able to actually practice but it doesn’t mean he isn’t going to support the team.

By the time practice is half over his leg aches and he returns to the locker room to strip out of his gear and to find a trainer to do something about the ache.

When he makes it back to the dressing room, leg not quite as sore as before though he knows it’s only a brief respite, the room is mostly empty. 

Brooks is on the phone as he ties his shoes, Dmitri is staring into space and Alex is at his stall, half dressed.

Michal dips his head when Alex looks at him, feeling heat stain his cheeks. He’s not entirely sure what to think about Saturday night.

After Alex had left he’d found it nearly impossible to get off the couch and even when he had gotten to bed and fallen asleep odd dreams had plagued him, all of them featuring Alex in some way.

That morning, in the bright sun and no tangible proof Alex had ever been in his home, Michal had half managed to convince his mind and heart he had imagined the entire scenario.

Easier to believe that than that Alex Ovechkin might have some kind of feelings like that for him. 

Would be easier but even from his stall tucked in the corner, watching from under his lashes as Alex finishes dressing he can see his captain looking at him with the same mix of affection and worry from Saturday.

Chest tight, Michal changes and decides to forgo a shower. He barely did anything and he doesn’t have anywhere to go but home. 

Double checking his pockets to make sure nothing has fallen out he leaves, returning Brooks’ wave, canting his head towards Alex in acknowledgement.

Whatever magic the trainers worked on his leg is gone by the time he gets home and Michal knows he shouldn’t have been on the ice. But he had to test his leg, had to try for the team with playoffs rushing towards them.

He has faith in Holtby, the whole team does, he’s good but the playoffs are the worst time to be thrust into the net with so little experience.

Grabbing a snack he settles on the couch and turns the TV on to some movie he’s seen a thousand times and doesn’t care about.

He falls asleep sprawled out on the couch, a huge, deep thing of dark grey. 

\-----

The annoying buzz of his doorbell wakes him and Michal struggles upright against the siren call of the couch. Outside the light has taken on the fuzzy, indistinct quality of twilight and he’s surprised at how long he’s slept.

With a groan he sits up and rubs at his leg. It’s stiffened up in his sleep and feels like its throbbing in time with his heart.

The doorbell sounds again and Michal curses as he limps towards the door. Just his luck to get cursed by visitors when getting around fast is nigh impossible.

Bracing a hand against the door frame so he can avoid having to put any weight on his leg he jerks the door open, shock rendering him mute, again, which is becoming a regular occurrence with the way Alex keeps showing up on his stoop.

Alex frowns at him before dropping his gaze to where his foot is just barely touching the floor. “Think I not notice you liming after time on ice? Shouldn’t have pushed.”

Michal shrugs. He’s seen Alex play with injuries so captain or no he isn’t going to take his words too seriously. “Had to know how bad it hurt. See if I could play soon.”

Alex touches a thumb to the point of his jaw. “Now you limp and no closer to playing. You make me worry Michal.”

Squeezing his eyes shut Michal bites at his lower lip. More than once he’s imagined Alex saying his name like that, low and intense and imagination holds no candle to the real thing.

A hand cups the back of his head, fingers rubbing at his scalp and Michal opens his eyes. Alex is still frowning at him and Michal is hit with the sudden urge to smooth out the wrinkle between Alex’s brows. He isn’t sure what the rules of this dance are but he thinks touching must be okay. 

He gives into the want, thumb smoothing the skin and Alex looks surprised.

Michal drops his hand, clenching it into a fist, hoping to hide the tremble that has nothing to do with pain and everything to do with the man in front of him.

Alex notices, like the mother hen he is when anyone is injured and steps in. “Need to sit. Don’t need you to fall over and make worse.”

Before Michal can say anything about exactly why he’s shaking Alex is urging him backwards and closing the door, locking it with a click that feels oddly final.

Crowding close Alex rests a hand against his side, huge and hot through the thin cotton of his T-shirt.

He lets Alex help him back to the couch despite being vaguely offended that his captain thinks he’s going to face plant. Instead he presses that much closer to Alex. It’s the first time they’ve been this close without gear and he wants to remember it in case this thing between them goes no further.

Alex lowers him to the couch, then disappears and Michal can hear him in the bathroom which is embarrassing since his room is in clear sight and a mess. The only thing keeping him from freaking out is the fact that anything completely mortifying is hidden in the table next to his bed.

He can’t completely stifle his laugh when Alex reappears with a bottle of painkillers in hand, struggling with the lid.

The look Alex gives him is pathetic, like a child who got their candy taken away.

“Hah!” Alex’s grin is triumphant and he holds the bottle out.

Michal takes it but does nothing with it. “Alex, not bad.”

Alex’s face tightens, taking on what the entire team calls the captain face. He kneels on the couch, catching Michal’s chin. “Is obvious you in pain. Not hurt to take and would make me feel better.”

In the face of Alex’s obvious worry Michal nods and tips two pills into his hand. He dry swallows them and sets the bottle on the table.

Dropping his head to the back of the couch Michal watches with hooded eyes as Alex looks at him.

He’s half convinced Alex is going to leave again but after a moment more he moves, dropping to the couch.

Alex pats his thigh and Michal frowns more than a little confused. “What?”

Sighing Alex rolls his eyes and pats his leg again. “Give me legs.”

It hurts more than he’ll ever admit but he drapes his legs across Alex’s lap, bracing his elbows on the couch so he can see.

A hand settles on his left knee, thumb following the curve of his knee cap. Alex’s other hand ghosts up and down his leg, light enough to avoid causing any pain but it still sets up a flutter in Michal’s chest.

“Lay back.”

Michal doesn’t want to, wants to watch Alex who is looking at him with a familiar intensity that is softer in the serenity of his home.

Lower lip caught between his teeth Michal nods and lays back. He rests a hand on his stomach, fingers of his other hand rubbing against the fabric of the couch.

The touch on his leg intensifies, turning into log, easy strokes that combined with the drugs work to ease some of the hurt. Michal closes his eyes, tired of staring at the ceiling and is mortified when he yawns. He turns his head, hoping to hide the second, longer yawn and knows he’s failed when Alex laughs, the sound sending a jolt through his core.

Cheeks hot he starts to sit up, needing to explain that he never finds Alex boring, even when he’s passed out on the plane after a hard game. The hand on his knee tightens just a little and he sinks back into the couch. 

“Is fine Michal. End of season makes everyone tired.”

It doesn’t take long before exhaustion is pulling at him again and Michal focuses on the feeling of Alex’s hands on his legs. He’s never been prone to falling asleep at the drop of a hat but lately he’s been exhausted no matter how much sleep he gets.

Worry about getting into the playoffs, staying in, Vokoun’s injury, his own, this thing with Alex, the team’s playoff run, has him feeling like he’s being pulled in a thousand different directions and he hates it.

Now though, practically drugged by the heat of Alex’s presence Michal can finally let go, if even for just a little while.  
\-----  
Michal has no idea what time it is, short of the fact its full dark. Alex’s hands are still on his legs, hot even through his sweatpants. He doesn’t want to move, wants to stay in the fragile cocoon surrounding he and Alex but his bladder is screaming and he needs to move his leg.

He sits up, wincing when he stands. Turning on the light next to the couch he looks at Alex. He can tell Alex isn’t actually asleep, by the slight unevenness of his breathing and the faint smile tugging at his lips.

Michal isn’t sure what to think about this and is surprised to see Alex is still there when he limps back into the living room. Fingers itching with the sudden need to touch he steps in until his shins brush against Alex’s knees.

With hesitant fingers he gives in and skims a touch down the line of Alex’s nose, something he’s wanted to do from the moment he met the older man. He drags his thumb along the curve of Alex’s cheek, mesmerized by the fact he’s allowed to touch. 

Alex is watching him from under the dark fan of his lashes, sending heat through his body and he wants to be closer. Bracing a hand on the back of the couch, Michal leans in, catching Alex’s mouth in a languid, easy kiss.

Getting lost in Alex has always been easy and even in the safety of his home Michal gives into Alex, lets him dominate the kiss, groans when a calloused hand cups his face.

A bolt of pain shoots up his leg and Michal digs his hand into the couch to avoid collapsing.

“Michal?” Alex’s voice is a low burr, heavy with concern. His free hand rests on Michal’s hip, thumb brushing over the waistband of his sweats.

Dragging a deep breath through his nose Michal straightens up, cheek burning from the loss of Alex’s hand. “Leg not so good.”

Alex is on his feet in a beat, arm sliding around his waist. “Bed?”

Michal nods and bows to the gentle pressure of the hand on his side, letting Alex take most of his weight. 

As Alex lowers him to the bed Michal can’t help but curse the luck that has Alex pressing him down onto every comfy, flat surface in his home with nothing good to follow.

Feeling emboldened by the way Alex is looking down at him, eyes dark Michal grabs Alex’s wrist, fingers stroking over the soft skin on the inside. “Stay?”

Alex freezes and licks his lips before nodding. “Okay. Be back.”

Michal sheds his sweatpants, tossing them towards the foot of the bed before curling under the blankets. Balling up a pillow under his head he stares at the far wall, heart beating like a hammer in his chest. He has no idea what made him ask Alex to stay, but in that moment, pressed together from chest to thighs it had seemed like the best idea. And even though he kind of feels like he might die, skin tight, he still thinks it was the right thing to do.

He doesn’t move when Alex comes into the room and listens to him undress. There’s a line of air down his back and then Alex is against him, a hand sliding under his shirt to rest against his chest, fingers splayed wide. Lips touch the nape of his neck in a light kiss and Michal smiles even as he drifts off.

Alex’s warmth against his back is all he could ask for.


End file.
